Stephen w



.gleiten tstrs getint. @frn Letters Patent No. 73,881, dated January 28,ISGS.

ADDRESS-CASE FOR RAILROAD-CARS.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Be itknown that I, STEPHEN W. DOWNEY, of Piedmont, Mineral county, WestVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTablet-Frames or Address-Cases for Railroad-Cars and other purposes; andI do hereby declare that the following is a`full,clear', and exactdescription of the saine, reference being had to the annexed drawings,and to the'letters of reference marked thereon, making part of thisspecification, and in whieh- Figure 1 is a side view of a car, with myimproved address-case attached.

FigureZ is a plan view of my address-case, with the top closed.

` Figure 3 is a side and end view. i

Figure 4 is a plan view, with the top open. l The nature of myinventionconsists in securing info. suitable frame, made of cast iron, lsheettiu, or other suitable material, a slate ortablet, on which therailroad-station, name, and address ofthe consignes can readily beplaced, and as readily removed after the car has been unloaded. The baseof the case, when made of east iron, is cast with a slate-frameattached, or when of sheet tin, or other like material, the freine issecurely attached thereto. This frame is provided with projecting lipso1' flanges, under which the slate is inserted, and by which it isiruily secured in position,v and thus entirely guarded against thedanger of being broken or otherwise injured. To inc hase of the case orslate-frame," as convenience may suggest, I attach a hinged top. 'ihistop is simply a metal frame, 1u wnicn is inserted and secured bysuitable means a glass plate, the saine being protected by rods or bars.The top can be firmly and securely closed by hasp, staple, and lock, orby a' spring-snap, suitably attached to the base of the case.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and practical means bywhich'railroad companies are enabled, for temporary purposes, to markthe station, names of consigner and consignees, and, if desired, theweight and capacity and number of car,` which will entirely supersedethe necessity of defacing the car by thc continued marking with chalk,as well'as do away with the method, which is equally objectionable, ofwriting, the address on a ca'rd, and tacking the same to the sides ofthe car. Both of these methods have long been admitted to beobjectionable, for in rainy and stormy weather they are eonstantiyliable,being entirely exposed, to be so defaced as to be rendercdunintelligible, and again, by malicious persons they are notunfrequently entirely obliterated or torn off. My tablet-slate issecurely guarded against all these objections. It is safely locked in`a. case, and is there free from the action of the weather, and alsosecurely guarded against all danger of being tampered with by any onenot authorized so to do, and at the-same time furnish a. means wherebythe address .can be attached with greater facility than by any methodnow in use; or, if deemed preferable, thc address may be written orprinted on a card, and placed on the slate, where it will be securedagainst all danger of being de faced or otherwise injured. Anotheradvantage of my locked case is this: it alords a safe and secure meanswhereby the manifest can be safely transmitted with the load. Themanifest, beingplaced in the rear of the slate, can be safelytransmitted,.a'nd with less danger of being lost than when eventransmitted with the mail. v

f lo enable 'others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the base of the case. To this base I firmly secure :i frame, B.When the case is made of cast iron,

'the frame B is cast in one piece with the frame A, or when it is madeof tin, or other sheet metal, it isiiirmly soldered thereto. This frameBis provided with projecting lips'or cleats; b under which the slate Cis inserted, and by meansof which tho slate is firmly secured inposition. To the base, A, or frame B, I firmly secure, by hingcsd d, orother suitable means, the top frame D. Within this fr'ums D, I secure aglass plate, E, which is retained in position hy meunsfof cleats, e e,or other ,suitable means, so arranged that they can readily lie-raisedfor the insertion of a new glass should occasioni require. To the sideof the frame I), Isecure Y l. series of rods or plates, c which serve toprotect the glass, andguard against the same being broken. a a

are metal strips or cleats, attached to or cast with the bottom, A, undby means of which the entire device is lrmlysccured to the side or endof the car l", at any convenient or desired point.l The top frame D canbe lirmly and securely fastened by moans of a hasp,f, clasp, g, andlock, 7i, the lock being {irmly secured to the frame A by means oi'achain-Nh',- or instead' of this method of fastening, aspring-p'lete, G,may be attached to the frame A, 'es shown in g. 2. Within the closedease, at any point that convenience may dictete, I place e.

suitable receptaele for' the sponge `z', sonarranged as to hold watersuiheent to keep the sponge thoroughly moist, and also for the pencil j.The latter may, however, be simply placed-.loosely within the closedcese, where it will be securely held. i H isA a, metal stripz which isfirmly secured to the bese, A, and is of width suilieient to project e'.short distance over the' entire side of the case. This strip I-Isecurely protects 'the slateand inner .portion of the frame from rain,rite., and -renders the interior of the case, to all inten-ts andpurposes, waterproof. l'When the ycese is made of cast iron, the stripvor flange H is cast with the' base, A.

YThe operation is es follows: The lock z, is nrnsfened, or when a springis used the springGr is thrownback, and the top lifted. With the spongez' you can readily obliterete the last address or other memoranda whichma be on-the slate, and readily transcribe a new address or other itern,whenthe topean be closed and securely fastened, and so remain until thecar reaches its destination, which, by means oi'lthe glass Etean at'nnymoment vbe readily ascertained.

The method of attaching the top een readily be changed withoutinterfering in the least with the object of my invention. For instance,the top, insted of being hinged, may be lconstructed so :1s to slide'insuitable grooves or guides arranged in the slate-frame C,'o.s clearlyshown in Figure 5. p Having thus fully describedmy invention, what Iclaim therein as new, and desire to secure by Lettersl Patent of theUnited States,"is l 1. I claim a tablet-cese for railroad-ears,constructed substantially as herein shown and described.' 2. Ic'laim'the slate C and the 4hinged top D, having a. glass, E, whenkthewhole is constructednnd arranged' substantially as described.

I In testimony whereof, I hnve'sgned my neme It'o this specification inthe presence of two vsubscribing witnesses.

' STEPHEN w. DOWNEY.

Witnesses: f

Jenn D. BLoon, EDWIN JAMES.

